Category Archives: Appetizers

Figure-friendly Super Bowl recipe: Beet chips with Yogurt-Chive Dip

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I recently saw an episode of Giada at Home on the Food Network where she made sweet potato and kale chips. With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, I decided to experiment with a healthy snack alternative myself (thanks for the inspiration, Giada!).

I decided to combine two of my favorite ingredients – beets and Greek yogurt – to make a figure-friendly version of chips and dip. Give these a try and I guarantee you won’t be grabbing any store-bought potato chips and dip anymore. Well, unless of course you screw up the recipe, in which case, that’s all your own fault :P . And if you have any guests who hesitate giving these a try, lie to them and say it’s purple potatoes — they won’t know the difference mwahahaha!

Baked Beet Chips w/ Yogurt-Chive Dip

For the beet chips:

  • 1 lb beets, greens removed
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

For the yogurt-chive dip:

  • 6 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • Juice of 1/2 a small lemon
  • 3 Tbsp fresh chives, minced
  • 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
  • 1/2 tsp Penzey’s shallot salt (celery salt or garlic salt would be good alternatives if you don’t have shallot salt)
  • Pinch of white pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the beets. Note: these little suckers bleed and turn everything red — I recommend keeping the beets on paper towels to minimize clean up later.

peeled beets

Using the thinnest setting on a mandolin, slice the beets.

sliced beets

Toss sliced beets with extra-virgin olive oil and salt & pepper. Place a baking rack on top of a flat baking sheet. Working in batches, place sliced beets in a single layer on top of the baking rack.

beets on baking pan

Bake until crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Note: Keep a close eye on these! The high sugar content of beets make them very susceptible to burning, especially when sliced so thin.

While the beets are baking, start on the yogurt-chive dip. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt and lemon juice.

Greek Yogurt

Lemon juice

Add the chives and parsley and mix until well incorporated.

chives

parsley

Season with shallot salt and white pepper; mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

shallot salt

When beet chips are done, season with additional salt while hot (optional). Plate with yogurt-chive dip, sit back, and watch the Packers kick some Steeler butt! :)

Plated1

plated2

Oh, and another helpful tip: don’t turn your back for even a second while working with raw beets…or else a sneaky little kitty may get into some mischief (notice the red beet mustache on his face :) ).

bad kitty

Anyone else doing some figure-friendly Super Bowl nibbles? This Buffalo Chicken Rolls recipe from Can You Stay For Dinner is definitely on my list to try — YUM!

Cookbook Review: Discover Cooking w/ Lavender

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2009 Sequim lavendar festival. Photo: Jenn Davis, http://amateurgourmand.com

Once upon a time (slash this past summer), I went to my very first Sequim Lavender Festival and instantly became obsessed with lavender. And as is the case with anything I obsess over, I began to wonder how I could go about eating it (thank goodness lavender is actually edible…imagine if I’d taken a sudden liking to, say, Elmer’s glue…bleeeh).

Anyway, being the novice cook that I am, I thought to myself, “self, wouldn’t it be nice to have a ‘Lavender 101’ guide to walk me through how exactly to cook with this lovely herb?”

Lo and behold, Discover Cooking with Lavender entered my life and we became instant friends. Written by local author Kathy Gehrt (Twitter: @kgehrt), this cookbook is a great primer for anyone looking to learn to cook with lavender – perfect for amateurs and seasoned foodies alike. In addition to the drool-inducing recipes, the book also offers helpful background info and a list of stores that sell culinary lavender.

Given that this was my first time cooking with lavender, I decided to start small and keep it simple – one appetizer and one cocktail. Verdict: lavender in food = BOMB! Thank you, Kathy!

Grilled Pear Crostini & Honey Lavender Summer Gin

Grilled Pear Crostini

Makes 12 crostini

  • 2 red pears, firm
  • 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ Tbsp lavender buds, chopped or finely ground in a spice grinder
  • 4 oz goat cheese (Jenn’s note: I used spreadable feta instead because I.HATE.GOAT.CHEESE! The feta worked beautifully, btw :) )
  • 1 baguette, cut into 12 slices ¼-inch thick

Peel and core pears, then slice them into ¼-inch thick rings. Rub rings with olive oil and 1 Tbsp ground lavender buds. Grill pears over medium heat. Turn once after pears are softened and have grill marks, about 2 minutes. Cook another 2 minutes. Remove from grill and cute each ring in half. Grill baguette slices, turning once until slightly toasted, about 1 minute. Spread bread with goat cheese (No, no, no! Feta!) and top with pear slices. Place crostini on a platter and sprinkle with remaining ½ Tbsp ground lavender.

Honey Lavender Summer Gin

Serves 2

  • ¼ cup hot water
  • 1 tsp dried lavender buds or 1 Tbsp fresh lavender blossoms
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 6 Tbsp gin
  • 2 Tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • Ice cubes

Steep lavender blossoms in hot water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk honey into water/lavender mixture. Pour mixture through a strainer into a small bowl to remove the lavender blossoms. Add gin and lemon juice. Pour into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well and strain into two chilled martini glasses. Jenn’s optional tidbit: coat the rim of the glass with a lemon zest-sugar combo. Garnish glass with a slice of lemon.

Curious about what other recipes are in the book? You can order a copy here. Oh, and for you Seattle-area folks, you can get your copy signed by Kathy at Fremont Place Books this afternoon (Sun. 4/25, 3pm) or at one of the other upcoming signing events listed on the site.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Discover Cooking with Lavender in order to write this review. However, the freebie did not sway my opinion in any way.


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Merry Christmas…and Fave Recipe Friday

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Merry Christmas! Hope the holidays have been full of fun, love, good food, laughter, and overall joy for everyone. Since my family all live overseas, I don’t get to spend every Christmas with them.  For the ones that we’re apart, I get together with my best friend and her mom for a little celebration. The day usually revolves around good food, lots of wine, a variety of movies/board games, and of course gifts.

So Santa was very generous this year and got me all kinds of great foodie gifts from Crate & Barrel, Oil & Vinegar, Penzeys Spices, and….drum roll please…tickets to the Savor Seattle Food Tours! I’ve been wanting to go on this tour for years, but just never got around to it — I’m so stoked!

All the wonderful foodie gifts from Santa :)

Ok, now onto the Fave Recipe Friday portion of this post. This week’s recipe: my version of deviled eggs. My friend’s mom loves these and made a special request for them today, so I thought I’d share the recipe with you all as well.

Those who know me well know that I despise mayonnaise. It totally grosses me out and I can detect it in a dish even if it’s only a small dollop. So I like to swap out recipes that call for mayo and use plain Greek-style yogurt (it’s strained and therefore thicker than regular yogurt) instead. No yucky mayo taste + healthier substitute = a winner in my book!

 Deviled Eggs w/ Greek-Style Yogurt

Makes 24 appetizers

  • 12 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup plan Greek-style yogurt
  • 3 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • Paprika and chives to garnish

Place eggs into a large saucepan and fill with cold water. Cover pan with lid and bring water to a boil; boil eggs for approx 10-12 minutes.

Place eggs into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cooked, peel the eggs and slice in half length-wise.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cooked egg yolks, yogurt, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper until well incorporated and smooth. 

Fill a piping bag (or just use a plastic food storage bag and cut a hole in the corner) with the yolk mixture and pipe into each egg half. Garnish with some paprika and chopped scallions. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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